April 21, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior Andres Gonzales has been selected as the Mountain West Conference Men's Golfer of the Month for April. It marks the first time this season that Gonzales has received the monthly award.

The Olympia, Wash., native paced No. 6 UNLV in both tournaments it competed in during the month of April. Gonzales tied for eighth with a 4-under 209 (71-68-70) at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., April 8-9 as the team finished second, one shot out of first place. He followed that performance with a tie for fifth at the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah, April 14-15 with a 10-under 206 (68-70-68). The team finished fourth in that event. Gonzales' 10-under par score at the Cougar Classic tied him for UNLV's low individual tournament total to par for the season.

For the month, Gonzales shot in the 60s in three of his six rounds (all three rounds were 68) and was at par or better in all six of his rounds (five at under par). He finished the month with a 69.17 scoring average.

Gonzales leads UNLV in scoring average at 71.48 for the season and ranks fourth in the MWC. In addition, he has three top-5 finishes all year, five top-10s and seven top-20s. The Cougar Classic marked the third straight tournament that Gonzales has finished in the top eight and was his fourth straight tournament finishing in the top 15.

UNLV's next action will be April 27-29 at the Mountain West Conference Championships in Sunriver, Ore.